• Whitney Greene, Teresa Burke, Gregory Bramblett, and Heuy-Ching Wang.
• Sensory Trauma, United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, 3698 Chambers Pass, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234.
• Mil Med. 2020 Jan 7; 185 (Suppl 1): 443-447.

IntroductionTo establish a rabbit model of posterior penetrating eye injury as a platform to test potential therapeutics.Materials And MethodsAnesthetized rabbits received posterior penetrating eye injury in one eye, whereas contralateral eyes were maintained as uninjured controls. Rabbits were randomized into two experimental groups. Group A was euthanized on Day 14 postinjury to determine retinal fibrosis at an early phase of disease progression. Group B was euthanized on Day 28 postinjury to examine retinal fibrosis at a late phase of disease progression. We examined animals on postinjury Days 7, 14, 21, and 28 with indirect ophthalmoscope and fundus photography. After euthanasia, eyes were processed for histology and immunofluorescence labeling of fibrotic proteins α-smooth muscle actin and collagen I.ResultsEarly fibrosis was detected by Day 14, as indicated by indirect ophthalmoscopy and fundus imaging. Fibrotic membranes were visible at sites of injury. Immunofluorescence analysis detected α-smooth muscle actin and collagen I within the fibrotic membranes.ConclusionsThese data show that ocular fibrosis can be detected within 14 days after initial injury, with more severe fibrosis detected at 28 days postinjury. These results will be used to determine the optimal time points for later studies designed to test treatment strategies.© Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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